If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

7 but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

8 he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death—

even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

“……and you say we will share the mind of The One?”

So the friends under the wings of Crow and Bird and Fly

climbed up out of the healing waters such balm to their feet.

So the friends, the critters, the unly-folk climb once more so high

that oft they needed each other’s arms in brace of help so fleet.

“Oh, now weesies not needsies so much talk, so much clatter-patter!

“Did ye watchies how goodsies we am, by jam, in helping so soft?”

“Aye, and we did know long afore of ye growing wordless when did matter.

“Aye, and we did know ye would be part of the mind of The One up aloft.”

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

“……and you say HIS FEET needed the balm more than ours?”

So did friends all holding hands and sticks and ears and noses

Lean and huff and carry on with guff up this higher hill, this brighter hill.

So did friends all critterly and snorterly topple and bend to toeses

Keen in pain of scratches and scrapes and wounds to water the thrill.

“Oh, Crow, find that oil, that balm, you say Old BeadyEye did spy!”

“Oh, Bluesay Fly! Buzz over a drop of that healing so rare!”

“Nay, friends and critters and flopping topsies! Oil not for you nor I!”

“Wait, friends, for streams down below! Oil for feet of THE ONE so bare!”

Like this:

This post is just short little essay of sorts to partially explain without giving away too much why I chose the four posts I reblogged yesterday.The first two reblogged posts told most wonderfully of great achievements by women for the benefit of others. These women also continue to connect and involved many in their ongoing miraculous work for the good of all.The third reblog was to place the proper persespective on our human foibles that get in our way sometimes. Our critterly friends and unfolk on their journey certainly show the effects on their resolve such foibles have.The fourth reblogged post shows a wonderful want to connect a little one, the Babe of your life, to you as you venture into the world on your daily quests. This little snuggy carrier will come to be quite symbolic as we continue in this critterly,unfolk journey.Also, I wanted to draw distinctions between human-designed aids to travel and those provided by the Creator of us all. Be well, gird your loins, continue on our journey, ever east, ever connected.

Like this:

Over the past two weeks, we have learned many truths from some unexpected critterly relationships and encounters on the way to Bethlehem. We have heard them talking in their own languages, with their own unique points of view. We have sung with them, been startled by them, marched along them, crawled with them, flew with them, called out to whoever would listen with them. We have been sweeping clean our own Advent path with a lot of help from our critter friends.

N ow we will be meeting up with some beings who are mostly human, but not entirely, thank goodness. We will listen to them in their own idioms. We will cry and laugh and dance and crawl and mourn and regret and sigh and then jump up high in many showers of new light along with these folk. For, you see, we are created in such a peculiar way that we just do not learn or prepare or rejoice very effectively until our hearts and minds have been drilled by points of light fired like shafts by others into our souls. Come, let us prepare together!

So grab your walking sticks and a travel pack. Scrub the mists from your eyes, so that you may see clearly what has been inside you always. Throw a little water over your head, so that you may be clean when meeting these wonderful “other folk”. Carry a little oil, pack a little water, store up a little grain “against that day foretold since before the creation.” Take my hand, pilgrim.